Flask hoist for foundry molding machines



Feb. 3, 1953 5, J, DRls 2,627,335

FLASK HOIST FOR FOUNDRY MOLDING MACHINES Filed July 28 1950 '5 Sheets-Sheet 1 Fig.4.

1 INVENTOZ STANLEY JAMES G 012 B 7 Tron/v5):

Patented Feb. 3, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT rel-c1:

FLASK HOIST FOR FGUNDRY MOLDTNG MACHINES Stanley James Gedris, Grand Rapids, Mich.-

Application July 28, 1950, Serial No. 176,508

(Cli 198-33 3 Claims. 1 This invention relates to foundry equipment and more particularly to a'ma'chinefor inverting flasks containing a formed sand mold.

This application is a continuation-impart of my cop'ending application entitled MoldingMachine, Serial No. 723,025; filed January 20,"1947, and; now abandoned. In the preparation of foundry molds for making' castings, the molds" are normally made in two parts. One half of the impression of the item to be cast appears inthe drag mold seated in the drag flask and the other half of the impression of the item to be cast is formed the cone mold seated'in' the cope-flask. It is a common' practice to make the molds upon a pattern plate in which'the pattern extends upwardly from the pattern plate and the sand'in which the impression is made is-p'acked down about this upwardly projecting pattern. When the mold is drawn from the pattern plate, the cavity Numerous machines have been developed to invert the drag mold. These various machines have not proved entirely satisfactory'because they are'c'omplex in their structure and, therefore, not particularly suited to foundry operations. Norma-l foundryoperations are carried on under'severe conditions including large quantities of abrasive materials and corrosive"- fumes. Thus, it is necessary to design all equipmentfor use infoundries to be simple and capable of operating under such excessively adverse conditions.

Inasmuch as most molds are formed foundry' sand, the handling of the molds must-be'done without sudden acceleration of the molds, shocks or jolts whereby the mold will be weakenedor otherwise injured.

It is, therefore, a primary objectjcf my invention to provide a simple mechanism for inverting a drag mold, which mechanism will operate smoothly without jarring the molds.

It is a further object of my invention to provide such a mold inverting mechanism which maybe made to operate entirely automatically.

It is an additional object of my invention to provide a foundry mold inverting mechanism which will operate rapidly and accurately.

These and other objects of m invention will be immediately seen by those acquainted with foundry equipment upon reading the following specification and the accompanying drawings.

In the drawings:

Figure 1 Ba sectional elevation view ofrrry invention taken along theplane indicated by line I-'-"I in Figure 4," and showing the flask su porting frame in position for receiving a' flask before inverting the" flask. I

Figure 2' is a sectional elevation view taken along the same plane as Figure 1 but showing the flask supporting-frame in position to release the flask after having inverted the flask;

Figure 3 is a plan view of my invention taken along the plane III-filer Figure 2 showing my flask supporting frame in released position.

Figure 4 is a plan view of my invention taken along the same plane as Figure 3 but showing the flask supporting frame in closed or flask gripping position.

Figure 5 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view taken along the plane V--V of Figure 4.-

Figure 6 is an enlarged fragmentary sectional view of my invention takenalong the plane VI VI of Figure 2.

Figure 7 is" aflow diagram of one arrangement of automatic controls for the operation of my invention;

In executing the objects and purposes of my invention I have provided aflash supporting frame pivoted 'about' one end. The frame is-provided with a pairof spaced armswhicli arealternately closedupon the flask and spaced from the flask. When the arms are closed upon the flask, they grip the flask tightly so that the frame maybe pivoted about its one end tetrahefer the flask from one conveyor-to another canveyor' and at the same time invert the flask;- As soon as the flask has been inverted and: deposited on the second conveyor, the frame is caused to release the flask andthe' frame pivots back to receive the next flask;

In the following description the terms upw'ardly and downwardly are freely used.- The term upwardly is to be taken as" meaning upwardly," as the machine is normally used and as shown in Figures '1 and 2', and the term downwardly as away therefrom.

Referring now to the drawings in greater d'etail, the numeral refers to a conveyor. On one side of the conveyor 1 are a'pair of long, vertical standards 2- and- 2a, On the other side ofthe conveyor l are a pair of short, vertical standards 3 and 3o. Beams; 4 are mounted between the standards 2 and. 2a and the standards 3 and 3a.

" of the same flange.

A cross beam extends between the standards 2a and 3a.

Rotatably mounted on and between the beams 4 by means of the journals 6 is the shaft l6. Rigidly attached to the shaft It by means of the hanger straps H is the U-shaped frame |2 consisting of a pair of parallel sides I3 and a connecting bar l4. Parallel to the sides l3 are a pair of spaced stops l9 attached to the connecting bar l4. Pivotally mounted at l5 to each of the sides |3 adjacent the connecting bar I4 is an arm I6. The arms l6 extend beyond the free ends of the sides l3 and at their ends remote from the pivotal mounting are connected by a double acting cylinder l1 and piston I8.

Pivotally mounted to each of the arms I6 by means of pins are a pair of fingers 36. The fingers are substantially spaced from each other and from both the cylinder IT and the connecting bar l4. Four guides 3| are mounted on the sides l3 each of which guides slidably receives one of the fingers 36. The guides 3| 'each have a base web 38 (Fig. 5) for spacing the fingers 33 from the arms l6. Both the base webs 38 and the sides l3 are slotted 39 to 7 permit inward and outward travel of the pins 25 mounting the fingers 36 to the arms |6.

,. The slots 39 are wider than the pins 25 to permit a slight play of the pins 25 because the movement of the arms 16 is rotational about the pivots l5. Likewise, the pins 25 are rigidly attached to the fingers 36 but areprovided with an elongated hole in the arms I6 because of the arcuate movement of the arms.

The fingers 36 each consist of a plate 32.

resting upon the base web 38 and having a hook 33 at the end of the plate remote from its supporting arm l6. The hook 33 creates a slot 34 between the hook and the plate, which slot .is of the correct width to receive the rim 'or flange of a flask 36. When seated about the flange of a flask, the hook 33 grips one face of the flange and the plate 32 grips the other face The guides 3| each have a central channel 31 for providing a pathway for the hooks 33.

The two guides 3| remote from the shaft H] are each provided with a lug 26 extending across the central channel 31. The lugs 26 contact the hooks 33 for purposes which will be more fully explained under Operation.

A spur gear is rigidly attached to the f shaft l0 adjacent one of the'ends of the shaft Ill. The gear 40 meshes with a rack 4| mount- -ed on the end of the piston 42 of the double acting cylinder 43. The cylinder 43 is mounted on the cross member 44 extending between and supported by the vertical standards 2 and 2a. 4 The cylinder 43, piston 42 and rack 4| are vertically disposed adjacent and substantially parallel to the vertical standard 20.. The rack 4| is urged "into engagement with the gear 40 by the guide roller mounted on the cross beam 5.

' To one side of the shaft ID are a pair of rails constituting a track and supported by the beams 5| and legs 52.

' 56 are spaced substantially above the conveyor l. The exact spacing between the rails 56 and the conveyor'l may be varied according to the requirements of the machine with which my flask turnover or inverter invention is to' be used. However, the length of the hanger straps H and the vertical position of the shaft It will be affected by the vertical spacing between the rails 56 and the conveyor The shaft It must be equi-distant between the horizontal plane of the lower flange 35 of the flask 36, when the flask is seated on the rails 56, and the horizontal plane of this same flange of the flask when the flask has been inverted and the flask seated on the conveyor The length of the hanger straps M will depend upon the spacing between the rails 5|] and the conveyor I.

By reason of the base web36 of the guides 3|, the fingers 33 will be spaced below the tops of the rails 56 sufi'iciently that the slot 34 between the hook 33 and the plate 32 will register with. the flange 35 of a flask 36 seated upon the rails 56. The base webs 38 permit the fingers to seat down between the rails 50 when the sides l3 of the frame |2 are positioned over the rails 50.. r

The frame I2 is provided with a stop 66 adjacent the free end of each of the sides l3. The stops project both above and below the sides l3, whereby at one end of the frames travel the stops 60 will contact the abutments 6| on the conveyor 1 and at the other end of the frames travel will contact the beam 5| remote from the shaft l0.

It will be understood that my turnover frame is designed to be used with other units of foundry equipment. Therefore, the design and operation of the conveyor l andthe rails 50 are not described in detail since they may vary from one installation to another. The only thing in relation to the conveyor and the rails 5|) which 7 r is of importance to my improved turnover frame is the vertical spacing between these parts and their location with respect to the shaft l6.

Operation 7 This may be done manually or mechanically, such as by the step by step conveyor shown in my copending application entitled Conveyor for Foundry Molding. 1 Machine. The particular means used toposition the flask on the rails 50 is unimportant to this invention.

- After the flask has been positioned on therails 56; the frame l2, with the arms I6 at maximum spacing, is pivoted about the shaft l6 until it seats down around the flask'36 and the stops 60 contact the beam 5|. "In this position, the lower flanges 35 of the flask 36, as the flask is positioned on the rails50, are in register With the slots 34 of the fingers 36. The cylinder l! is then actuated to withdraw thepiston l8, rapidly drawing the arms l6 toward "each other. This closing together of the arms it forces the fingers 30 to seat about the flanges 35 on each of two opposite sides of the flask 36.

Once the flask 36 has been securely grasped by the fingers '38, the cylinder 43 is actuated to withdraw the piston 42 causing the shaft |6to rotate and the frame l2. to be pivoted about the axis of the shaft until the flask 36 comes to rest on the conveyor I. In its travel from the rails V 50 to the conveyor the rflask 36 is inverted.

The stops |9 1imit the travel of the flask 36 toward the connecting bar M as this operation is carried out. The cylinder is then actuated -'to eject the piston l8, spreading the arms l6 and releasing the flask 36. Should one ofthe arms IG ofier more resistance to being'moved than the other, itwillmove away from. the flask until the hook 33 of its finger remote from the shaft I0 contacts'the lug 26. Upon contacting gage the fingers 30.

As soon as the arms I8 have been spread apart to release the flask 38, the cylinder 43 is actuated to eject the piston 42. This pivots the frame I2-back to its initial position on the rails 50. In the meantime another flask 38will have been positioned on the rails 50' to be received by the frame I2. While the frame I2 is receiving a new flask from the rails 50', the preceding flask will be removed by the conveyor I.

The cylinders for powering-my turnover frame may be actuated pneumatically or hydraulically. It is also possible to substitute a partially or wholly electrical operating system for the pneumatic or hydraulic system shown. The coordination and operation of the various cylinders actuating my improved turnover may be manual or automatic. Numerous different valve and flow arrangements maybe made to control this actuation. For the purpose of completeness I shall illustrate and describe one particular valve arrangement capable of automatically regulating the operation of my turnover. Again for the purpose of brevity I shall illustrate this valve arrangement as though the actuating medium were compressed air. rangement and actuating medium is not to be considered as a limitation upon my invention.

Compressed air is supplied from any suitable source I00 (Fig. 1), such as a tank, or from the compressed air lines of a machine with which my turnover is to be used and coordinated. The conduit IOI leads the air to a master valve I02. By means of the conduit I03, air is led from the conduit IOI to the regulator valve I04. The regulator valve I04 is mounted on the rail 50 remote from the shaft I0. When the frame I2 is resting upon the rails 50, the frame depresses the plunger 80 causing air to pass through the conduit I05 to the actuator 8I on the valve I02. This closes the valve I02. Simultaneously air is admitted by the valve I04 through the conduit I06 to the actuator 82 which thereupon sets the valve I01 to admit air via the conduits I08 and I09 to the lower end of the cylinder 43. Simultaneously the valve I01 will be caused to open to admit air to the cylinder I1 via the conduit III. The valve I01 is supplied air from the valve I02 by the branch conduit I I0a of the conduit IIO. However, since the valve I02 is closed, no air will be admitted to the valve I01 or to any conduit depending upon valve I01 for air. In this position of the machine, the pistons 42 and IB'are both in fully extended position,

The valve I02 is then opened either manually or by means of an actuator operated from a machine used in conjunction with my turnover and the operation of which is coordinated with my turnover. The valve I02 then admits air to the valve I01 which, in turn, admits it to both the cylinder 43 and I1. A restrictive unit 83 is provided in the conduit I09 between the junction of the conduit I09 and the conduit I08. By this means the cylinder I1 is enabled to complete its full withdrawal stroke before the cylinder 43 starts any appreciable movement.

However, this particular ar- Theoperation of the cylinder withdrawing thepiston 42 lifts the frame I2 from the plunger causing the valve I04 to shut off the flow of air to conduits I05 and I06 and to reset the actuator 8I ready to again close the valve I02 and to reset the actuator 82 ready to open thevalve I01. By reason of the restrictor 83, the movement of the piston 42 is gradual, eliminating any shock to the sand mold within the flask 38.

As the frame I2 laysthe flask 36 upon the conveyor I, the plunger 84 0f the valve I I2 is flrst depressed. The v'alveII2 is supplied by air directly from the. valve I02 by the branch conduit IIOb. Depressing of the plunger 84 admits air through the conduit II3 to the actuator 85. The actuator 85 then operates the valve I01 to shut off the'air supply through the conduit I08 to the lower end of the cylinder 43 and then shuts oil the air supply via the conduit I I I to the piston end of the cylinder I1. As the valve" I01 is closed, it opensthe conduits I I I and I09 to the exhaust portv II4 whereby air is bled from the cylinders I1 and 43.

Upon further lowering of the frame I2, the plunger II9 will be depressed admitting air first to the conduit H5 whereby the piston I8 will be ejected by the cylinder I1 and the flask 36 released. Simultaneously the plunger 84 win cause the airto be admitted to the conduit II8 reversing the direction of movement of the piston 42 and starting the frame I2 back toward the rails 50. The flow restrictor 81 in the conduit I I6 will prevent the cylinder 43 from reversing its movement prior to the actuation of the cylinder I1. When the frame I2 again is seated upon the rails 50, depression of the plunger 80 causes air to be admitted through the conduit I05 to close the valve I02 and through the conduit I06 to open the valve I01. By means of the conduit II1 air will simultaneously be admitted to the actuator 86 to reset the plungers 84 and 35 and the valve II2 ready for the next pass-age of the frame I2. The valve II2, when reset, will open the conduits I I6 and I I5 to the exhaust port I I8 whereby the upper end of the cylinder 43 and the nonpiston end of the cylinder I1 may be bled of air. respectively.

The structure of the various cylinders, valves, actuators and flow restrictors is not described in detail because there are many conventional designs of this type of equipment available, and the particular internal structural arrangement of this equipment forms no part of this invention.

Except for the flow diagram in Figure 7, I have not shown nor described the arrangement of the various conduits in relation to the structural illustration of my turnover. This arrangement may be made in many different ways, and the inclusion of the various conduits and valves upon the drawings will make my invention more diifcult to understand.

- I have illustrated and described a machine for removing a foundry flask from one track and placing it upon another. In the operation of transfering the flask from one track to another, the mold within the flask is inverted whereby a drag mold having a downwardly directed mold cavity may be caused to have an upwardly directed mold cavity ready to receive the mating cope mold. The machine is designed to move the flask without impairing the mold by shocks or sudden acceleration. At the same time the mechanism may be made to operate swiftly and entirely automatically.

' Numerous modifications of my invention may be made without departing from the principle of my invention. Each of these modifications is to be considered as included in the hereinafter appended claims unless these claims by their lan guage expressly provide otherwise.

I claim:

1. In a flask turnover for a foundry flask having an voutwardly extending rim, a first conveyor and a second conveyor, said first conveyor being disposed above said second conveyor, the combination comprising: a hinge member includingia shaft; a frame having sides and ends;

.of said hinge member and the other of its ends free; a pair of arms, one on each side of said framey'each of said arms pivotally mounted to said frame adjacent said hinge member; means affixed to'theother of the ends of each of said arms for alternately substantially aligning said arms with said sides of said frame and spacing said arms substantially from said sides at the free ends of said frame; fingers mounted on each of said arms and movable therewithfor receiving said rim of said flask; means for pivoting said frame from a position horizontal to said first conveyor to a position horizontal to 'said second conveyor and returning said frame to a position horizontal to said first conveyor.

2. Ifra flask turnover as described in claim 1 wherein saidfingers each have walls defining a slot for receivifiglsaid rim of saidflask; a plurality of guides on said sides of said frame, each of said guides slidably receiving one of said fingers.

3. In a flask turnover as described in claim 1 wherein said fingers each have walls defining a slot for receiving said rim of said flask; a plurality. of guides on said sides of said frame, each of said guides slidably receiving one of said fingers; means on at least one ofsaid guides on each of said sides for contacting the fingers received in said guides and limiting the diverging pivotal movement of said arms.

STANLEY JAMES GEDRIS.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the 20 file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 1,216,750 Tscherning Feb. 20, 1917 1,474,612 Allen Nov. 20, 1923 1,602,719 Straight Oct. 12, 1926 2,293,192 Campbell Aug. 18, 1942 2,453,077 Newton Nov. 2, 1948 

